UC San Diego

The number of deaf and hard of hearing students served in an itinerant capacity in recent years has steadily increased. As a result, school districts have increased need for an itinerant teacher workforce that is engaged, satisfied, and committed. However, while research tells us a good deal about special educators’ job satisfaction, research tells us relatively little about deaf and hard of hearing itinerant teachers’ job satisfaction. A variety of factors affect itinerants’ job satisfaction, including how they support students, how they structure their time, the number of students served, type of leadership and level of supervisory support, and the politics and cultural factors they must navigate at school sites. This literature highlights the barriers and supports that itinerant teachers experience in their quest to provide effective services for deaf and hard of hearing students. The phenomenological study, informed by ecological systems theory, explored the experiences of itinerant teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing and was designed to understand the personal and organizational practices and policies that affect their job satisfaction. It included 20 individual interviews and a focus group with itinerant teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing from school districts and local education agencies across the country. The study identified ways that itinerant teachers feel engaged and committed, as well as the conditions that promote dissatisfaction.